From developer semiwork comes R.E.P.O., a chilling (unintentionally hilarious) online co-op horror experience where teamwork and tension collide. Up to six players take on the role of robotic agents employed by a cryptic AI overlord, venturing into derelict human ruins to retrieve valuable—and often perilous—artifacts. With its fully physics-based object handling and unpredictable horror elements, R.E.P.O. transforms mundane tasks into heart-pounding trials of coordination and nerve.

I’ve played this game a lot since it came out on Early Access and swept the streaming scene. There’s a reason why this Lethal Company style game has reached such an early level of popular acclaim.

The Job: Extract or Perish

Your mission is simple: locate and extract valuable objects from haunted environments, all while evading—or enduring—the horrors that lurk within. Every item, from towering pianos to delicate vases, obeys realistic physics, demanding careful handling. Teamwork isn’t just helpful; it’s mandatory. Will you carry a priceless painting together, or risk dropping it in a frantic scramble from a pursuing monster? Which, admittedly, I have done. Many times.

One big difference from other games is in R.E.P.O. your items will break if mishandled, and each bump docks its value. Porcelain or glass items are especially fragile, often breaking on corners or other players if you’re not careful. Others might damage you right back if you mishandle them. From flying, biting books to screaming, flailing cursed dolls, each item needs to be handled with care.

The Taxman is not a forgiving taskmaster. You have a number of extraction points per level that you absolutely must fill if you want to leave alive. Fail, either by dying to the various enemies haunting the levels or by breaking too many objects and failing to fill the extraction points? You and your friends are pitted against each other in a cage match to the death to determine the King of the Losers. 

It’s honestly a great and chaotic way to end a run. And the winner gets to play the next round wearing a little crown! Plus, bragging rights right up until they run into the next Huntsman and get blown to smithereens, but who’s counting? 

Did This House Get Bigger on the Inside?

I have to say, R.E.P.O. looks a lot like if the creators of Among Us did Lethal Company. The game overall has a cartoonier aspect than the near-gritty realism of Lethal Company. Not to mention the player characters look like the little pill-shaped astronauts, except they’re robots with googly eyes. The mouths move when you talk and the eyes move to whoever’s speaking, which is just really fun. The developers are also working on expressions, so when you sound angry their eyes do that anime glare thing. I’m looking forward to it, cause that’s hilarious!

The environment and objects are also lower poly, but intricately crafted. So far there are only three maps: Headman Manor, with an abandoned manor feel; Swiftbrook Academy, which is like knock-off Hogwarts; and Mcjannek Station, a Danish research facility. Each map is procedurally generated based on what level you’re playing, meaning the same map will become more complex and dangerous the further you progress. I’ve played the game enough to recognize the different rooms when I run into them. However the “late game”, levels 10 and over, are still throwing surprises at us.

A lot of the more hazardous rooms have pits you can get thrown in, but I would love to see some more active hazards. Like, the manor could have various traps at higher levels you could accidentally trigger, or the botany rooms at the Academy could have dangerous plants you need to avoid. Dangers like that would be challenging for players to avoid, but also work against the monsters if you’re clever. Also, Semiwork is currently playtesting a new Museum map to add to the roster with promises of parkour to come, so that’s exciting. 

Threat Assessment: Critical

In R.E.P.O., your mission to extract valuable artifacts is constantly threatened by a menagerie of horrifying—and sometimes darkly comical—monsters. They are varied, wacky, and tricky to outmaneuver. Each creature follows its own twisted logic, turning every retrieval into a high-stakes game of risk assessment.

Each monster is categorized by threat – Level 1 threats, like the annoying gnomes that deal 1 damage an attack to you but wreak havoc on your valuables; Level 2 threats, like the Chef Frog, who is frightening but easy to dodge once you learn his movement patterns; and Level 3 threats, like the Clown that can one-shot kill you with its deadly laser. They all have their own mechanics, including whether they’re sound or sight based. It takes some time, but eventually you learn not to look at Slender Baby and No Face (aka, Shadow Child and The Robe) and when to jump out of Chef Frog’s way.

You start off on level 1 facing off against a Level 1 and a Level 3 threat. Not too bad, but definitely deadly without upgrades or weapons to defend yourself with. The further you advance in game levels, the more monsters will appear. This includes dreaded variant spawns (4.67% chance), where a Level 3 monster might be replaced by a swarm of weaker foes—like 10 Gnomes or 3 Mentalists. You’ll probably even face multiple Level 3 threats. Trust me, being cornered by three Huntsmen who can shoot you dead if you so much as breathe wrong is a nightmare.

Surviving the Nightmare

Luckily, there is a use for the money you’re collecting. Between missions, players spend hard-earned surplus currency on upgrades, weapons, and robotic enhancements. Now, are those weapons sometimes inflatable hammers and frying pans? Yes, yes they are. But it really is satisfying to whack those jerks in the face sometimes. Other times, you just need a really good cluster grenade or bear trap.

The upgrades are especially important, however. They include stamina and health upgrades, increases to grab range and strength, greater speed and jump abilities, and even a death counter to keep track of how many of your friends are still alive before you ship off without them. 

Of all of the upgrades, you want strength the most. Not only does it let you lift bigger and heavier items without as much help, but once your strength is high enough you can even pick up enemies! Bash them around the room or throw them in a pit – whatever’s your pleasure! Enjoy it while it lasts, however. The developers have decided the player base is bullying their monsters too much in the late game and want to up the difficulty. They’re removing the ability to throw enemies around in favor of an overcharge mechanic that will take far more strategy. 

Semiwork plans on a 6–12 month Early Access period for R.E.P.O., with the full release expanding on meta-progression, customization, story elements, and additional content. Community feedback—gathered via Steam forums and Discord—will directly shape the game’s evolution. There are currently 3 worlds, 19 enemies, 29 equipment items and 8 player upgrades, with a lot more planned.

Already sprinkled throughout my writing you can see the developers at work, getting ready to implement their first round of improvements. What I’m most looking forward to is probably the bucket we can put over Duckie – ahem. I mean, the Apex Predator’s head. Seriously, I’ve been killed because of that dang duck more often than most monsters. He’s just so annoying!

Overall

Right now R.E.P.O. is getting four-stars not because it’s not a top-notch game, but because it just straight isn’t finished yet. If we were playing the finalized version released after Early Access, R.E.P.O. would be an easy 5. The gameplay is smooth, engaging, and addicting. It’s fun and accessible in a way I haven’t been able to get into with other games in its genre. I’m very much looking forward to how the game is going to grow, and who knows? Perhaps we’ll revisit it in another 6-12 months, huh?

R.E.P.O. is out on PC through Steam, and on Nintendo Switch. It retails for $9.99 USD. Players interested in Open Betas of the game’s progression should join their Discord.